China’s first dedicated surf resort, integrating hotels, dining, and a large artificial wave pool – Riyue Bay Surf Resort – has opened in Wanning on the southern coast of Hainan Island in southern China. Hainan is accessible via its international airports in Haikou and Sanya, and the flight time from Hong Kong is about 1.5 to two hours.
Wanning is a popular coastal city that is also known as a tropical resort destination famous for its beautiful beaches, excellent surfing especially at Riyue Bay, rich local culture, and outdoor activities like hiking and snorkelling.
The Riyue Bay Surf Resort offers China’s first Olympic-grade surf lagoon, powered by advanced pneumatic wave technology. The system generates 23 dialed-in, pro-ready wave settings, enabling consistent, year-round surfing unaffected by weather or tides. The resort caters to all skill levels – from first-time surfers to elite professionals – through its signature Four Wave Levels featuring large, medium, small, and micro wave profiles.
A New Kind of Escape: Redefining Coastal Lifestyle
Moving beyond conventional tourism models, the resort integrates sport, hospitality, retail, and culture into a seamless coastal lifestyle experience.
Accommodation options include the UECHAO Hotel, which offers 132 guest rooms, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in a stay that is shaped by waves, rhythm, and coastal energy.
The resort’s lifestyle retail district X-Livin High Street, developed in collaboration with young entrepreneurs, serves as a social and retail hub. It brings together the live-music stage LIVEHOUSE, beach club BISTRO, specialty coffee outlets, Southeast Asian cuisine, and outdoor lifestyle brands—creating a dynamic environment where sport, art, and contemporary culture converge.
The resort also has curated a series of cultural and lifestyle events: an island life festival and market, group fitness runs, skateboarding sessions, a drone light show over the sea, floating cinema screenings, and fire dance performances.
Hainan Marine Tourism Year
The grand opening of the resort late last year also coincided with the start of the 2026 Hainan Marine Tourism Year, which will offer 60 high-quality marine tourism products that include tourism projects, water sports, and festivals. There will be 10 island-wide itineraries, including coastal relaxation tours and six immersive ocean experiences.
Hainan already boasts a strong coastal infrastructure, with six resorts, 19 marine-themed scenic areas, 137 seaview lodgings, nine marine culture streets, five nighttime cultural zones, and 14 water sports bases.
The campaign aims to attract 18 million visitors and generate over 40 billion yuan (about US$5.7 billion) in revenue by 2027. A “Hainan Marine Tourism Guide (2026)” was released to help visitors explore the offerings.
